Posted on 06/30/2002 6:30:45 PM PDT by CHICAGOFARMER
One year later: New weapons law arms 719 residents
Telegram photo by Deloris Clark Osborne -- John Sprague of Johnson's Sporting Goods in Adrian displays a Beretta 92FS in the store. Sprague said pistols such as the Beretta are the guns of choice for residents who choose to carry a concealed weapon. By Dennis Pelham -- Daily Telegram Staff Writer
One year after it went into effect on the heels of a Michigan Supreme Court ruling, the state's concealed handgun law is being judged a success in Lenawee County.
Since July 1 last year, 917 Lenawee County residents have started the application process and 719 concealed weapon permits have been issued, according to sheriff's department and county clerk officials.
"I think things have worked out just marvelously," said David Coy, an Adrian College professor and National Rifle Association firearm instructor.
Coy said he is not aware of any problems with concealed gun permit holders in Lenawee County. He has heard of only two people in Michigan losing permits due to misuse of weapons, but with neither one involving a shooting.
"It's no surprise to me at all," Coy said. "I knew the folks going through these classes would want to comply with the law."
The concealed weapons law gives citizens 21 and older the right to a permit if they have no criminal record and complete an approved handgun training course.
Opponents of the law attempted to keep it from going into effect on July 1 last year with petitions for a referendum vote. The Michigan Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals ruling just two days before its July 1 start date.
Critics said they feared allowing people to carry concealed handguns would lead to a wave of violence.
"That was my major concern," said Lenawee County Sheriff Larry Richardson. He said he favored the law but still worried that some people might misuse weapons in emotional situations.
"So far, nobody has," he said. "I have not seen where anybody used their gun illegally."
People are taking the responsibility of carrying a gun very seriously, Richardson said.
Giving people the right to a concealed weapon permit if they meet specific rules has helped those who serve on the three-member county gun board, he added.
"It has made our jobs a lot less confusing and arbitrary," Richardson said.
The board is made up of the sheriff, county prosecutor and a state police representative.
Previously, state law required applicants to justify to county gun boards their need for a concealed handgun, such as carrying large amounts of money as part of business or employment duties.
Changing to a system based on a qualified right to a permit was welcomed by Lenawee County Prosecutor Irving Shaw.
"At least in our county, the transition was quite smooth. It's proceeded with very few problems," Shaw said.
He complimented staff at the sheriff's department and county clerk's office for thorough work in reviewing applications and conducting background criminal checks before permit paperwork reaches the board.
County workers had to scramble to handle a flood of questions and application requests when the law took effect last year.
A line of people spilled out of the lobby at the sheriff's department the first morning applications were available. More than 100 information kits were given out the first business day under the new law.
By Dec. 31, the sheriff's department had reviewed 650 applications. So far this year, 267 more people have come in for applications and fingerprinting, said Lt. Cletus Smith.
"We don't have them waiting out in the front lobby any more," Smith said. But a steady flow of applicants continues to show up every Wednesday when fingerprinting is offered from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thirty-eight sheriff's department members are among those who have taken out permits, Smith said. Wording of the statute requires that reserve officers, posse members and part-time court bailiffs have permits to legally carry guns when they are needed, he said.
Most applicants for concealed weapon permits simply want to be sure they are acting within the law when they transport and carry handguns for hunting and target shooting, said Brian Pieske of Manchester, chairman of the Washtenaw County chapter of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.
Others are interested in self-protection, Pieske said, with some carrying handguns occasionally and others almost all the time.
A wide variety of people have taken out permits, said Larry Robinson of Clinton, a certified handgun instructor who has conducted classes for several hundred people in the last year through the Lenawee Conservation League.
His classes have included people in law enforcement, health care, business owners and teachers, he said. The youngest was 21 and the oldest 89.
"It's more men by far, but every class we've had two women at least," Robinson said. Class sizes have ranged from 13 to 38 people since they began last August.
Robinson said he does not ask students why they sign up but many talk about their reasons. Most want to be certain they are not breaking any laws unknowingly when they take their guns out for target shooting or hunting, he said.
"We have had quite a few people who want to carry a gun for personal protection," he added. Robinson said he has not worried about anyone he has met in his classes.
"If you're going to carry a gun for self-defense it's a very serious thing," he said. His students have all shown they take the responsibility seriously, he said.
People who go through the training and permit process to carry a concealed gun are not the type to worry about, agreed John Sprague, manager of Johnson's Sporting Goods in Adrian.
"They are some of the most law-abiding people you are ever going to meet," he commented.
He has been meeting more of them since the concealed weapon law changed last year, Sprague said.
"There's been a significant increase in people purchasing personal protection handguns," he said. "It's almost a daily thing."
To qualify for a concealed weapon permit, an applicant must complete eight hours of training if they are experienced with handguns and 12 hours if they are not.
"That's one thing I like about the courses," Sprague said. "It definitely familiarizes people with the proper use of guns and the laws."
So we are back to the drawing board with, hopefully a better law, with reciprocity, lower fees for filing, lower costs on classes, 5 year length, lower renewal, and most importantly, less stringent qualification requirements.
The original law stated you needed to qualify with EACH caliber you were going to carry. Also, you had to qualify with both pistol and revolver, we are going to get that all changed.
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Gosh, you don't think the Liberals got that wrong again, do you!!??
The Detroit News did a similar story today, and interviewed the democRAT prosecutor of Oakland County. He admitted there were no crime waves or massacres that he predicted earlier, but wanted to wait another year to see what might happen. He was quite unhappy that there was no bloodshed or lawlessness.
Typical RAT reaction from the counties around Detroit.
Oh, and in an era when RATs question Aschroft's honesty and ability to enforce all the laws equally, most Michigan county prosecutors announced they opposed the law, so they would not participate in the gun boards. They were applauded by the RAT and RINO newspapers for their "courage".
If you are elderly or disabled and don't learn to protect yourself, you chose to be the next Celia Hodges.
Celia Hodges was an elderly widow living alone in a "college town" about a mile away (Elon College) back around 1980. Some student (Arthur Griffin) living in an apartment nearby - drunk and stoned on dope after his girlfriend dumped him - later said he was trying to break into his ex-girlfriend's apartment to get her back. Instead, he was too stoned to know which way to walk - and broke into the widow's home instead, then beat her so badly she ended up hospitalized for a couple weeks and you couldn't tell what race she was from the court photos.
Celia Hodges never really recovered. When she went home, she had "NO TRESPASSING" signs all over her home.
If she'd had a Mossberg 590 that night Griffin broke in, she'd never have been put through that - and her assailant wouldn't have had to worry about the farcical sentence his rich family bought him, either.
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